AQA English GCSE

Poetry: Love & Relationships

Mother Any Distance - Simon Armitage

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 MOTHER ANY DISTANCE
Simon Armitage

Brief Summary

In this poem, Armitage presents a speaker who is reflecting

on the connection he has with his mother, from the
perspective of childhood and growing up. This is portrayed
against the backdrop of the older version of the speaker
asking his mother to help her measure his new house. He
contrasts the reliance he feels on his mother in the first
stanza, to the pressure to explore independence in the
second, and then considering whether he can succeed or will
fail in the final stanza.

Synopsis

● The speaker introduces the situation: he has moved into a new house and his mother has
come round to help him measure the house for furniture, etc.
● He reflects on the distance between them and how he feels about his connection to his mother.
● He considers whether he will succeed on this next step in his life, or whether he will fail.

Context

Simon Armitage (1963 - )

In 2019, Armitage became the new Poet Laureate, following Carol Ann Duffy in the post. He is a
playwright and novelist as well as a poet, and attended the University of Manchester as well as
studying in Portsmouth. He has worked in a number of occupations, and his poetry often relates
back to his Yorkshire heritage (Armitage was born in Huddersfield) and often focuses on relatable
situations in order to resonate with and engage the reader.

From “Book of Matches” (1993)

This is a collection of poems which are all designed to be read in the brief time it took for a match
to burn out, and most of the poems are around the length of a sonnet.

KEY THEMES INDEPENDENCE, AGEING, SENSE OF PLACE, FREEDOM, CHILDHOOD

RELATIONSHIP MOTHER / CHILD | FAMILIAL

LOVE MATERNAL, PARENTAL

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Mother Any Distance
Like a few of the other poems in the anthology, Armitage isn’t very specific in his time or setting
with the poem ‘Mother Any Distance’ - and this is emphasised in the present tense narrative of
his poem. It is from the perspective of a child reflecting on how his mother is helping him move
into his own home, and having a child commenting on their relationship with a parent or relative is
common for the familial poems in the collection.

It uses a juxtaposition between colloquial phrases, with formal address, such as the word
“mother”. Again, like many of the other poems in the anthology, the structure of ‘Mother Any
Distance’ is quite fluid and Armitage employs a very loose rhyming scheme, which is mainly in the
form of half-rhyme.

JUXTAPOSITION | Comparing two concepts,

characters, or clauses, in close proximity in a passage
for the effect of contrast.

The title “Mother Any Distance”

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The slight internal rhyme to
this pair of lines creates an
intimate, homely sense to
start the poem. It
emphasises how close he
is to his mother, both
literally and figuratively,
and sets up the titular
figure of the mother as
very protective.
References the limit of the
tape measure.
His mother is at the base,
symbolic of home, of the
tape measure, and this
may imply them have now
more of an emotional
connection between them
rather than sharing the
same house. The tape
measure may also be
symbolic of the umbilical
cord, a physical connection
between the mother and
son which has now been
lost.
We are left on the word ‘fly’
which suggests a positive
ending to the poem. A
rhyming structure is
implemented in these final
two lines, between ‘sky’
and ‘fly’, which may
suggest harmony and a
return to certainty after
Armitage’s period of
reflection.
Mother Any Distance
Mother, any distance greater than a single span By addressing his mother
as ‘mother’ rather than a
more informal name may
requires a second pair of hands.
suggest the speaker is
trying to mature and place
You come to help me measure windows, pelmets, distance between him and
doors, his mother.
Whilst the addresses “you”
the acres of the walls, the prairies of the floors. and “me” are physically
separated in this line, the
sentiment of it suggests
the reliance the son has on
his mother.
You at the zero-end, me with the spool of tape, The semantic field of
recording measurement may be
symbolic of measuring the
time and memories the pair
length, reporting metres, centimetres back to base,
have shared together.
then leaving
Contrasting images of
up the stairs, the line still feeding out, unreeling anchor and kite, to
highlight the confusion he
years between us. Anchor. Kite. is experiencing as to his
feelings towards his
mother and his increasing
independence - the conflict
between these parts of his
life. Enjambment displays
I space-walk through the empty bedrooms, climb both the mother and son
attempting to move on, and
the ladder to the loft, to breaking point, where the singular worded
something sentences slow the poem’s
pace, hinting that Armitage
may be feeling thoughtful
has to give;
and reflective.
two floors below your fingertips still pinch
the last one-hundredth of an inch ... I reach The hatch may symbolise
the freedom offered to
Armitage through the
towards a hatch that opens on an endless sky
process of growing up.
to fall or fly.
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Perspective

The poem is from the perspective of a son who is moving into a new home and has asked his
mother for help measuring the house.

Structure

Sonnet
Loosely based on the format of a sonnet,
and the loose format may suggest
uncertainty as to how he feels towards his
mother. If it is read like a sonnet with
emphasis placed on the final line, this
perhaps highlights how nervous he feels
about moving onto a new stage in his life.

Uneven rhyming structure

Uneven rhyming structure, which may
suggest the uneven relationship between
mother and son - the son clearly relies a lot
more on his mother than vice versa.

Enjambement
Armitage uses enjambment between many of his lines, and this serves to replicate the rhythm and
form of someone talking naturally. This may suggest they have a healthy, unforced relationship,
and this mirrors the subject content - obviously the son has relied a lot on his mother.

The opening

Mother, any distance greater than a single span

requires a second pair of hands.
You come to help me measure windows, pelmets, doors,
the acres of the walls, the prairies of the floors.

By addressing his mother as “mother” rather than a more informal name may suggest the
speaker is trying to mature and place distance between him and his mum. The slight internal
rhyme to this pair of lines creates an intimate, homely sense to start the poem. It emphasises how
close he is to his mother, both literally and figuratively, and sets up the titular figure of the mother
as very protective.

Whilst the addresses “you” and “me” are physically separated in this line, the sentiment of it
suggests the reliance the son has on his mother. By including this in the opening of the poem,
along with the title and first line including the word “distance”, Armitage is introducing the theme
of separation, or the prospect of distance, early on in the poem.

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The hyperbolic imagery employed in the final line “the acres of the walls, the prairies of the
floors” embarks the theme of exploration, but the largeness of the images reflects the
intimidation he feels when faced with the prospect of growing up and gaining independence. The
sentence is structured using parallelism, to perhaps reflect the stable and comforting structure of
home. Armitages choice of the word “Acres” may suggest that Armitage is feeling lonely and
isolated. Both ‘acres’ and ‘prairies’ are historically unused spaces. By opening the poem to this
stanza, Armitage is demonstrating how intimidated the speaker is with the prospect of moving onto
a new stage in his life.

HYPERBOLE | Use of exaggerated statements.

Language

Semantic field of measurement

SEMANTIC FIELD | A writer uses words which are

linked by a theme or topic throughout a text or passage.

Semantic field of measurement and distance links the poem back to the title and explores how
far Armitage feels he can go without the assistance of his mother. It may also be symbolic of
measuring the time and memories the pair have shared together. These references include
“metres, centimeters” and “one-hundredth of an inch”.

Metaphors
The poem is rife with metaphors such as “endless sky” to
symbolise the possibilities in life and the “tape” measure as
either the umbilical cord, or more generally the connection
between mother and son. The use of these metaphors
elevates the poem into a more vivid dream-state, to engage
the reader and contrast with the basic, central theme of a
child’s reliance on their mother.

The line:
the acres of the walls, the prairies of the floors

Has a very exaggerated and hyperbolic metaphorical quality to its description, which can suggest
that he feels very intimidated with both the prospect of moving onto a new stage in his life, but also
having less reliance on his mother.

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Colloquial language
Colloquial language is used to display the intimate and comfortable bond the pair have, such as
“back to base”. The colloquial language contrasts with the formal address of “mother”, which
suggests it is the speaker who is keen and is trying to distance himself from his parent.

COLLOQUIALISM | An informal phrase common at its

time of utterance.

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Comparisons

Mother Any Distance Letters To Yorkshire

“breaking point” “Wouldn’t” abbreviated version of
‘would not’
“back to base” “planting potatoes ”
Both are written in free verse without a rhyming scheme, to mimic the colloquial tone of the
poems, however Letters From Yorkshire are written with a stable stanza structure of
three lines per stanza.

Mother Any Distance & Walking Away

Similarities ● Explores the concept of letting your children go off into adulthood
● Both poets use caesura to demonstrate the separated between past and
present
● Both poems utilise a final couple of lines to conclude the poet’s reflection
with a hopeful message.
● Both speakers use direct address to imply the intimate connection
between the speaker and other characters the speaker is addressing.

Differences ● Whilst WA is addressed to Sean, who is Lewis’ son, whereas the speaker
and addressee in Mother Any Distance is ambiguous and may not be a
reference to a semi-autobiographical instance.
● Biblical imagery is utilized in WA but not MAD.

Mother Any Distance & Follower

Similarities ● Both from the perspective of a child, who is expressing their admiration for
their respective parents.
● They both extensively employ metaphors to symbolise different aspects of
the parental / child bond.

Differences ● The son in MAD is attempting to distance himself, however the father / son
relationship in Follower remains bonded.
● MAD manipulates sonnet form, which is typical of love poetry, suggesting
love for his father
● Enjambment is utilised in both poems, however in MAD it is to show the
breaking of the parental bond, whereas in Follower, it contrasts with the
stable, unbroken familial bond.
● Completely different settings - contemporary, implied urban setting of MAD
vs rural setting of Follower, though MAD is a lot more ambiguous than
Follower in both setting and relevance to context.

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